He broke the icy surface
and drew a breath with a gasp
Treading water, battling
the weight of his linen
The dying kelp grasped at
his feet as the waves rocked him
His fingers too numb to
feel as his hands thrashed at the surface
When the wind blew too
hard and the waves thrashed into him
He would submerge into
the icy cool darkness below and dream
Dream of a life with a
little more warmth and love
Dream of a life with a
little less need for profundity
And then, he would stop
struggling and drift with the currents
But as his breath
threatened to run out, his muscles convulsed
And his body
involuntarily thrashed towards the surface
Breaking it once more to
draw another breath with a gasp
